PASADENA, Calif. – In commemoration of the 100th Rose Bowl Game, the Tournament of Roses created a special program to honor great players and coaches throughout the history of The Granddaddy of Them All.

Over the course of the regular season, members of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected one Rose Bowl Game representative from each decade to comprise an All-Century Class. The panelists, spanning media outlets across the country, also nominated one overall player and one overall coach who best captured the Passion, Strength, Tradition and Honor of the Rose Bowl Game.

“It has been a tremendous honor for members of the FWAA to participate in selecting the All-Century Class,” FWAA President Chris Dufresne said. “The Rose Bowl Game is synonymous with tradition. As we prepare to celebrate its 100th game, this project pays tribute to the great names that have graced the hallowed grounds of the Rose Bowl Stadium, lending to its storied history.”

The Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class

1900’s – 1910’s George Halas, Great Lakes Navy

1920’s Ernie Nevers, Stanford

1930’s (tie) Don Hutson, Alabama and Howard Jones, USC

1940’s Charley Trippi, Georgia

1950’s Woody Hayes, Ohio State

1960’s John McKay*, USC

1970’s Archie Griffin*, Ohio State

1980’s Bo Schembechler, Michigan

1990’s Ron Dayne, Wisconsin

2000’s Vince Young, Texas

2010’s Montee Ball, Wisconsin

*All-Century Player - Archie Griffin, Ohio State

*All-Century Coach - John McKay, USC

Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director made the official announcement during a press conference this Sunday at the Tournament of Roses office in Pasadena. "The Rose Bowl All-Century Class wakes up the echoes of distant, past great performances and reminds us of the superlative ones in more recent games,” said Richardson. “It is a collection of marquee names accentuating the long and proud history of one of college football's most treasured franchises. It was a great honor for the FWAA and its members to be a part of this most important selection process for the Rose Bowl Game."

A detailed look into the nominees follows.

Long before the nickname “Papa Bear,” George Halas showcased his talents in the 1919 Rose Bowl Game. A three sport collegiate athlete at Illinois, Halas became a member of the Great Lakes Navy squad during a time college football teams were depleted due to World War I. In addition to a 45-yard touchdown reception against the Mare Island Marines, Halas returned an interception 77 yards to the Mare Island 3-yard line. For his performance, Halas was named Player of the Game.

Ernie Nevers established a Rose Bowl single-game rushing record in 1925, running for 114 yards on 34 carries. He also participated in nearly 80 percent of Stanford’s defensive plays, despite having casts taken off two broken ankles just ten days earlier. Stanford lost the game to Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame and his Four Horseman, 27-10, however, Nevers was still selected as co-Player of the Game with Notre Dame fullback Elmer Layden. Nevers went on to play professional baseball before beginning his professional football career. He holds the NFL record for points in a game, scoring six touchdowns and kicking four extra points. Nevers was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1991.

Don Hutson came to Alabama on a partial baseball scholarship and walked-on to the Crimson Tide football program. Upon graduation, he was an All-American end who would continue an illustrious career in professional football. Hutson played a crucial role in Alabama's 29-13 victory over Stanford in the 1935 Rose Bowl Game, catching six passes for 165 yards and scoring on receptions of 59 and 54 yards to help lead the Crimson Tide to victory. He was twice named NFL Player of the Year (1941 and '42) as a member of the Green Bay Packers. At the time of his retirement, Hutson held almost all the NFL’s receiving records and still holds many to this day. He was a charter member of both the NFL and College Football Hall of Fames and a 1993 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Inductee.

From 1930 to 1940, Howard Jones led USC to the Rose Bowl Game five times, winning all appearances by a combined 95 points. Prior to his arrival, Trojan football had not secured a national title nor featured a single All-American. After 16 seasons under Jones, 19 All-Americans joined a long list of accolades which included eight Pacific Coast Conference titles and an unblemished Rose Bowl Game mark. Three of those victories in 1932, 1933 and 1939 led to national championships for USC. Jones’ overall record at USC was a remarkable 121-36-13 from 1925-1940. Along with being an inaugural member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1989, Jones was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

In 1943, halfback Charley Trippi led the University of Georgia to a 9-0 Rose Bowl Game victory over UCLA, highlighting an 11-1 season and consensus national championship. Plagued by injury, Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich watched from the sidelines as Trippi played both offense and defense for 58 minutes, which was unprecedented for the times. Trippi carried the ball 25 times for 130 yards, earning Most Valuable Player honors. A Maxwell Award winner in 1946, he went on to play nine seasons in the NFL and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. Trippi was also a 1991 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee.

Woody Hayes is synonymous with Rose Bowl Game history. His success translated into scores of accolades, including three of his four Rose Bowl Game wins leading to national championships for Ohio State. Hayes ranks second in all-time Rose Bowl Game appearances as a head coach with eight, just behind rival Bo Schembechler, who made 10 (six of which were after Hayes stopped coaching). Hayes is also one of only three coaches to take his team to four consecutive Rose Bowl Games (1973-76), facing off against John McKay and the USC Trojans for the first three (1-2 record), before losing to Dick Vermeil and the UCLA Bruins in his final Rose Bowl Game. Hayes was a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame 1989 class.

In his 16 years as head coach for USC, John McKay’s teams won nine Pacific-8 Conference titles. He also led the Trojans to eight Rose Bowl Game appearances, including five victories – four of which captured national titles. McKay was the first coach to take four consecutive teams to Pasadena and is tied for the most wins in Rose Bowl Game history. His eight all-time appearances in the Rose Bowl Game are tied for second all-time. McKay is well known for popularizing the I-formation and emphasized a power running game. He coached two Heisman Trophy winners and a slew of accomplished players throughout his career. McKay was a 1991 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee.

Archie Griffin, the only player ever to win the Heisman Trophy twice, is also one of only two players ever to have started in four consecutive Rose Bowl Games. The three-time All-American gained a total of 412 yards on 79 carries during his Rose Bowl Game career, including 149 yards in his 1974 appearance. In his four years at Ohio State, Griffin became the NCAA career-rushing leader, with 5,589 yards – a 6.1 average – and gained 100 yards or more in 31 consecutive regular-season games. To this day, he remains the Buckeyes’ career rushing leader. Griffin is synonymous with Ohio State, where he currently serves as CEO and president of the Ohio State Alumni Association. He was elected into the OSU Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and was a 1990 inductee into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

The sixth winningest college football coach of all-time in terms of winning percentage, Glenn ‘Bo’ Schembechler led the University of Michigan to a record 10 Rose Bowl Game appearances during his 21-year tenure as the Wolverines coach (1969-89). In addition, Michigan's three consecutive Rose Bowl Game appearances (1977, ‘78, ‘79) trails only USC's John McKay and Pete Carroll, as well as Ohio State's Woody Hayes, who led their teams to four straight trips to Pasadena. Following the 1980 season, Schembechler gained the first of his two Rose Bowl Game victories by beating the Don James’ Washington Huskies. Schembechler retired from coaching after the 1990 Rose Bowl Game. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl and College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Ron Dayne started four years at running back for the University of Wisconsin. During his career, he set the NCAA Division I-A rushing record for total yards gaining 1,863 yards as a freshman, 1,421 as a sophomore, 1,325 as a junior and 1,834 as a senior. Dayne led the Badgers to bowl games each season with his most impressive performances coming in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl Game victories where he rushed for 246 yards and 200 yards, respectively. Garnering Player of the Game honors in both appearances, he became the third player in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to win the award more than once — and the first Big Ten player; a record still held today. Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 along with numerous accolades, including Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2011 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

Texas quarterback Vince Young ran his way to Player of the Game honors in the 2005 Rose Bowl Game, tying the record for touchdowns responsible for with five (four rushing, one passing). He also ran for 192 yards and passed for 180 more. His two 4th quarter touchdown runs helped overcome a 10-point deficit and earned Texas a win against the Michigan Wolverines. The Longhorns returned to Pasadena for the 2006 Rose Bowl Game and national championship where Young managed to best his performance from the year before. In arguably one of the best games and performances in college football history, Young ran for 200 yards, threw for 267 yards, and set the record for total yards. He ran for three touchdowns, including the last two scores of the game, leading the Longhorns past the USC Trojans, 41-38. Young earned Player of the Game honors, becoming just the fourth player in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to earn that honor twice.

At running back for the University of Wisconsin, Montee Ball was twice recognized as the best at his position in the Big Ten Conference and a consensus first-team All-American. He currently holds the NCAA Division I-FBS record for most career rushing touchdowns with 77 and the NCAA Division I-FBS record for most career total touchdowns with 83. In the 2011 Rose Bowl Game, Ball ran for 132 yards and scored one touchdown on 22 carries against TCU. His 132 rush yards, 22 carries and 6.0 yards per carry all are ninth-most in UW bowl history; and his 40-yard run ties for 10th-longest in UW bowl history. In the 2012 Rose Bowl Game, Ball ran for 164 yards and a TD on 32 carries versus Oregon and lastly, in the 2013 Rose Bowl Game, he rushed for 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Ball became the first player in history to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive Rose Bowl Games.

The Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class will be recognized at the 125th Rose Parade during the closing show float, which will honor these legends by showcasing their great plays on big screens. Additionally, they will be recognized during the 100th Rose Bowl Game.